Shi Mu

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Shi Mu (石牧)
Alias(es)	Fierce Fist
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Flowing Wind Martial Hall (former trainee); Black Tortoise Sect (prospective recruit) 7 47
Occupation/Role	Martial artist; former Martial Disciple of Feng City
Status	Alive; travelling with Black Tortoise Sect recruits 49
First Appearance	3

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Body Tempering, 7th Layer	4	Reached after years of underwater effort to free Xiang Zhu; the clam’s blood mist greatly improved his endurance and body tempering.
Body Tempering, 9th Layer peak	8	Repeated painful transformations raise his physical ability to the peak of the ninth layer, nearing a breakthrough.
Body Tempering, 10th Layer	21	Confirmed as having reached the tenth layer at age fifteen, earning recognition from other Martial Disciples.
Body Tempering, 11th Layer	20	Breaks through after half a year of Li Canghai’s dangerous Iron Refining Method.
Stone Monkey Waste Bloodline awakened	27	Gains exceptional toughness and strength at the Martial Disciple stage, but the bloodline obstructs his meridians and slows future qi cultivation.
Qi Sense	28	Perceives the first wisp of qi after taking the Spirit Qi Pill given by the Heavenly Yin Enchantress, becoming a true martial artist capable of beginning Houtian cultivation.

Background / History

Fisherman’s Village

Shi Mu grew up in a fishing village after his father, Shi Ting, abandoned him and his mother to pursue martial arts. Though poor and reliant on common medicinal decoctions, he attained an unusually high body-tempering level through relentless practice; he later attributes this progress to an earlier fortuitous encounter rather than natural talent. At his mother’s grave, he vows to become the strongest martial artist in the world. 3

Two years before leaving the village, Shi Mu discovered a giant white clam trapped beneath a reef. He spent years chiseling the reef apart while relying on the clam’s blood mist to breathe underwater. After freeing her, the clam maiden Xiang Zhu healed his ruined hands and gave him a spirit pearl. 4

Inheritance and Training

After learning that Shi Ting had remarried into the Jin Family, Shi Mu travels to Feng City and arrives only after his father’s death. He pays his respects, buries his mother’s bronze mirror with Shi Ting, and inherits an estate, farmland, a tavern, and silver. He rejects the offer of a noble title in favor of a Spirit Qi Pill and a chance to enter the martial path. 5 6

Shi Mu trains under Li Canghai of the Flowing Wind Martial Hall, learning the Thirteen Wind-Galloping Styles and Crushing Stone Fist. His abnormal strength, rapid recovery, and ability to endure the Iron Refining Method lead Li Canghai to suspect that he possesses a bloodline. 7 9 13

Feng City’s Top Martial Disciple

While wearing a silver mask as Fierce Fist, Shi Mu assists Feng Li and Gao Yuan against the Turbid Water Gang. He refuses their offer to lead the Black Fox Society, insisting that he will not be diverted from martial cultivation. 14 17

At the martial-hall competition, Shi Mu defeats Wang Tianhao and helps Flowing Wind Martial Hall claim first place. His Crushing Stone Fist approaches Great Completion, and he is recognized as Feng City’s top Martial Disciple. 23 25

Waste Bloodline and Departure

During the Bloodline Tide, Shi Mu awakens the unranked Stone Monkey Bloodline. The Pulse-Seeking Envoy, Li Canghai, and Instructor Min dismiss it as a waste bloodline because its blocked meridians severely hinder qi condensation. The Jin Family withdraws the Spirit Qi Pill promised to him, but Shi Mu secretly takes the pill previously given by the Heavenly Yin Enchantress and successfully comprehends Qi Sense. 27 28

After Jin Tian’s accidental death, Shi Mu concludes that the Jin Family will seek his life and flees Feng City with Zhong Xiu. He protects her through the pursuit, kills Wu Tong—a Houtian Martial Artist—using the Golden Silk Armor and Let-Go Blade Technique, and later faces Fifth Master Jin. 34 41 43

Ye Hongyao of the Mystic Sound Sect saves Shi Mu and Zhong Xiu, treats his injuries, and identifies his Xuan Token from the Black Tortoise Sect. She directs Shi Mu toward the Black Tortoise Sect while taking Zhong Xiu into the Mystic Sound Sect. Shi Mu subsequently travels for two months to board the Black Tortoise Sect’s ship. 46 47

Appearance

By fifteen, Shi Mu is unusually tall and physically developed, with a build nearly indistinguishable from an adult’s. His martial training gives him sturdy hands, formidable strength, and a body capable of enduring repeated brutal injuries. 8 13 21

• Often carries a saber at his waist and a bow on his back. 49
• Wore thick Black Armor while hunting and training in the mountains. 10 13
• Uses a silver mask and the identity of Fierce Fist when acting for the Black Fox Society. 15
• His palms are long and sturdy despite being capable of producing roughly a thousand jin of force. 8

Personality

Shi Mu is stubbornly committed to martial advancement. He chooses a Spirit Qi Pill over hereditary status, accepts the lethal risks of the Iron Refining Method, and refuses to abandon cultivation even after learning that his bloodline is considered worthless. 5 9 27 28

He is generally calm under provocation. He does not rise to Sun Jun’s hostility, keeps his identity as Fierce Fist concealed despite Wang Tianhao’s suspicions, and advises against escape when other Black Tortoise Sect recruits panic aboard the ship. 20 23 49

Shi Mu also acts protectively toward people in danger. He shares food with Zhong Ming and Zhong Xiu, honors Zhong Ming’s request to escort Zhong Xiu, shelters her after the Wu Family rejects her, and repeatedly places himself between her and their pursuers. 10 11 14 37 42

Abilities & Skills

Stone Monkey Bloodline

Shi Mu’s awakened bloodline grants extraordinary physical traits during the Martial Disciple stage, though it is formally classified as a waste bloodline.

• Provides exceptional toughness and superhuman strength. 27
• Supports his rapid recovery from severe training injuries. 9 13
• Its power blocks his meridians after Qi Sense, causing qi to condense far more slowly than normal. 27
• Its long-term cultivation value is considered so poor that the Flowing Wind Martial Hall expels him. 27

Body Tempering and Physical Strength

Shi Mu’s body-strengthening training gives him power beyond ordinary Martial Disciples.

• Can lift a stone lock and unleash roughly a thousand jin of force. 8
• Withstood half a year of Li Canghai’s Iron Refining Method to reach the eleventh Body Tempering layer. 20
• Develops speed through weighted mountain runs while wearing Black Armor. 11 13
• Defeats several Wu Family riders in close combat before confronting Wu Tong. 39 40

Blade Techniques

Shi Mu specializes in fast, forceful saber combat.

• Thirteen Wind-Galloping Styles — Learnt from Li Canghai and brought to Great Completion; its rapid cuts can form multiple blade shadows. 7 23 30
• Six Slashes in One Breath — A rapid multi-strike technique capable of shredding formations and severing a stake into seven pieces. 8 39
• Crushing Stone Fist — An external martial skill trained through harsh hand-conditioning; it reaches a level comparable to Great Completion. 7 25
• Let-Go Blade Technique — Li Canghai’s hidden technique, later used alongside the Golden Silk Armor to defeat Wu Tong. 13 41

Archery

Shi Mu becomes a highly dangerous ranged fighter with the Purple Steel Bow.

• Learns to shoot accurately at targets over fifty paces away after daily practice. 32
• Uses the bow to ambush and eliminate multiple pursuing Wu Family riders from a distance. 38
• Continues fighting with the bow against Fifth Master Jin and his Blood Hounds until he exhausts his arrows. 43

Moonlit Vision

After a strange moonlit dream involving a White Ape, Shi Mu’s eyesight improves dramatically.

• Can perceive distant details with far greater clarity. 30
• Enters the dreamlike state passively while exposed to moonlight. 30
• Uses his heightened sight to navigate the forest while fleeing with Zhong Xiu. 37

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Sun and Moon Blades — Paired cold-iron weapons commissioned from Master Ma; used against Wu Tong. 15 40
• Purple Steel Bow — Powerful bow used for practice, ambushes, and long-range kills. 31 38
• Black Armor — Heavy upper-body armor used during mountain hunting and endurance training. 10 13
• Golden Silk Armor — Defensive armor used in the plan that kills Wu Tong. 41
• Soft sword — Wu Tong’s ingeniously designed belt-sword, taken after Wu Tong’s death. 41
• Zhong Craft Secret Manual — Zhong Ming’s family heirloom; contains unusual weapon designs and poison formulas. 12
• Xuan Token — Token linked to the Black Tortoise Sect and used by Ye Hongyao to direct Shi Mu toward the sect. 46
• Spirit pearl — Gift from Xiang Zhu after Shi Mu frees her; Xiang Zhu’s master claims it had been tainted by strange blood and become useless. 4

Relationships

• Shi Ting — Father who abandoned Shi Mu and his mother, later brought Shi Mu into contact with the Jin Family through his death and inheritance. 3 5
• Shi Mu’s mother — Deceased mother whose grave Shi Mu visits to vow that he will become the strongest martial artist. 3
• Jin Zhen / Aunt Zhen — Paternal aunt by marriage and Shi Ting’s widow; gives Shi Mu his inheritance, supports his pursuit of a Spirit Qi Pill, and attempts to defend his promised reward within the Jin Family. 5 27 28
• Shi Yuhuan — Younger half-sister; meets Shi Mu after Shi Ting’s death and expresses confidence in his potential. 5 6
• Li Canghai — Instructor at the Flowing Wind Martial Hall; teaches Shi Mu saber techniques, Crushing Stone Fist, and the Iron Refining Method, but later rejects him after the Stone Monkey Bloodline is revealed. 7 9 27
• Zhong Xiu — Zhong Ming’s daughter, entrusted to Shi Mu after her father’s death. Shi Mu shelters and protects her; she remains loyal to him during their flight, before Ye Hongyao takes her toward the Mystic Sound Sect. 11 14 42 46
• Zhong Ming — Zhong Xiu’s father; entrusts his daughter and the Zhong Craft Secret Manual to Shi Mu before dying from the zombie attack. 11 12
• Feng Li and Gao Yuan — Black Fox Society associates and fellow Flowing Wind Martial Hall disciples; work with Shi Mu under his Fierce Fist identity and offer him leadership of their society. 14 17
• Wang Tianhao — Rival Martial Disciple who recognizes Fierce Fist’s fighting style and challenges Shi Mu during the martial-hall competition. 16 23 25
• Heavenly Yin Enchantress — Mysterious barefoot girl who gives Shi Mu a Spirit Qi Pill and challenges him to reach Xiantian before age thirty; Shi Mu declares that he intends to marry her. 19 20
• Ye Hongyao — Early-stage Xiantian Martial Artist of the Mystic Sound Sect who saves Shi Mu, heals his injuries, and directs him toward the Black Tortoise Sect. 45 46
• Han Xiangxiu — Fellow Black Tortoise Sect recruit who speaks with Shi Mu aboard the ship and becomes curious about his background. 49

Notable Quotes

“Mother, rest assured. Since I have resolved to become a strong man in this world, I will never give up halfway and disgrace you. What is a mere crippled meridian?” 28

“I want you to be my wife. I will marry you.” 19